The present invention relates to a compound which exhibits antitumor activity, a method for isolating the compound from a dinoflagellate and methods for using the compound. More specifically, the present invention relates to the isolation and identification of a new chemical compound and of medically useful compositions containing the same. The compound of the present invention exhibits advantageous pharmacological, toxicological or antitumor properties, such as, for example, killing or inhibiting the growth of human tumors, specifically against a human colon carcinoma cell line HCT 116 (IC50=1.6 nM).
The present invention also is directed to a method of isolating and purifying the compound of the present invention from a dinoflagellate.
Another aspect of the present invention is directed to antitumor compositions which comprise an antitumor effective amount of the compound of the present invention and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.
Any of the above antitumor compositions can further include an antitumor effective amount of one or more other known antitumor agents.
The present invention also is directed to a method of treating cancer which comprises administering to a patient in need thereof, an antitumor effective amount of the compound of the present invention.
The method of the present invention also comprises coadministering an antitumor effective amount of one or more other known antitumor agents, together with the compound of the present invention.
Further scope of the applicability of the present invention is apparent from the detailed descriptions and drawings provided below. However, it should be understood that the detailed descriptions and specific examples, which indicating preferred embodiments of the invention are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.